Editing Discover Card (section)

== History ==
At the time Discover was introduced, Sears was the largest retailer in the United States. It had purchased the [[Dean Witter Reynolds]] brokerage organization and [[Coldwell Banker|Coldwell, Banker & Company]] (real estate) in 1981<ref>{{cite web
| title=A Brief Chronology of Sears History
| url=http://www.searsarchives.com/history/chronologies/chronology_brief.htm
| publisher=Sears Brands, LLC.
| access-date=August 12, 2009}}</ref> as an attempt to add financial services to its portfolio of customer services. Ray Kennedy Sr., father of [[Country music|country]] singer [[Ray Kennedy (country singer)|Ray Kennedy]] and the [[credit manager]] for Sears, conceived the card.<ref name="jwcntry">Whitburn, Joel (1996). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits'', p.173. {{ISBN|0-8230-7632-6}}.</ref> After a trial period in 1985, starting with a $26.77 purchase at an Atlanta Sears on September 17,<ref name="first">{{Cite web |url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/discover-card.asp |lang=en-US |publisher=[[Investopedia]] |access-date=August 1, 2020 |last=Kagan |first=Julia |date=June 27, 2018 |title=Discover Card}}</ref> the actual launch was pushed through by [[Philip J. Purcell]] and [[Mitchell M. Merin]], the company's senior vice president for corporate administration and manager of financial analysis, respectively.<ref name="Blake">{{cite news|url=https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b151356w3lqdlt/blue-chipped|title=Blue chipped|last1=Blake|first1=Rich|date=November 1, 2002|work=Institutional Investor|access-date=August 9, 2018|language=en-gb}}</ref> Together with the Discover Card (and its issuing bank, the Greenwood Trust Company, owned by Sears), this was named the Sears Financial Network. Early Discover Cards bore a small embossed symbol representing the [[Sears Tower]], then the company's headquarters.

Discover was part of [[Dean Witter Reynolds|Dean Witter]], and then [[Morgan Stanley]], until 2007, when [[Discover Financial]] Services became an independent company.<ref>[http://www.greensheet.com/emagazine.php?story_id=195 “Discover flying solo”]. ''The Green Sheet'', July 9, 2007. Retrieved 2016-12-04.</ref> '''Novus''' was once the major processing center that partnered with the company. The Novus logo was retired, replaced by the Discover Network logo.

[[File:Olddiscover.png|thumb|Discover and Novus retired acceptance mark]]
Unlike other attempts at creating a credit card to rival [[MasterCard]] and [[Visa Inc.|Visa]], such as [[Citibank]]'s [[Choice (credit card)|Choice card]], Discover gained a large national consumer base. It carried no annual fee, which was uncommon at the time, and offered a typically higher credit limit than similar cards. Cardholders could also earn a "Cashback Bonus", in which a percentage of the amount spent would be refunded to the account (from 1% to 5%), depending on how much the card was used.<ref>Simon, Jeremy M. [http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/reward-programs-a-short-history-1277.php Credit card reward programs: a short history]. CreditCards.com, November 14, 2006. Retrieved 2016-12-04.</ref> Discover was also noteworthy for being the only credit card accepted by the [[U.S. Customs Service]] to pay [[customs duty]], effective February 19, 1987.<ref>[http://www.joc.com/maritime-news/customs-service-rules-credit-cards_19870219.html Customs Service Rules on Credit Cards]. Journal of Commerce. Retrieved December 5, 2016.</ref> Since it did not charge a percentage fee to retailers, unlike Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, Discover was also the only credit card accepted at [[Sam's Club]]; the retailer has since started to accept MasterCard and American Express (see below). A 1989 study found that Discover had strong consumer adoption in the U.S.; the number of households with Discover cards increased by 2.1 million, or 14 percent, in 1989.<ref>Aguilar, Linda. [https://chicagofed.org/~/media/publications/economic-perspectives/1990/ep-jan-feb1990-part2-aguilar-pdf.pdf#page=18 Banks and nonbanks at the end of the ‘80s]. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, March 1, 1990.</ref> In this same year, Discover also signed a restaurant in Delaware as its 1 millionth merchant in its payment network.<ref>Harkness, Brendan. [https://www.creditcardinsider.com/credit-cards/discover/]. CreditCardInsider.com, April 7, 2020.</ref>

The plan to create a one-stop financial-services center in Sears stores was not as successful as Sears had hoped, and its promotion of Discover was thought both to hurt Sears turnover and to restrict the card's potential. Other retailers resisted it, as they were developing their own credit products and they believed they would be helping their competitor. Sears began to face difficulties in the late 1980s in light of these developments, and with strong competition both from [[Walmart]] and from so-called [[category killer]]s such as [[Toys "R" Us]]. Discover's introduction was costly; Sears's Discover credit card operations accounted for a loss of $22 million in the fourth quarter of 1986, and a loss of $25.8 million in the first quarter of 1987.<ref>Barmash, Isadore. [https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/22/business/sears-net-rises-47.4-in-quarter.html "Sears Net Rises 47.4% in Quarter"], ''The New York Times'', April 22, 1987.</ref>

In 1993, Sears spun off its Dean Witter division into a new publicly-traded company,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/06/30/Sears-completes-spinoff-of-its-Dean-Witter-Discover-Co-stake/7543741412800/ |title=Sears completes spinoff of its Dean Witter, Discover & Co. stake |website=United Press International |date=June 30, 1993}}</ref> and began to accept MasterCard and Visa in addition to its store credit card and Discover. Discover became part of the Dean Witter financial services firm, and the new company was called Dean Witter, Discover & Co. In 1997, this company merged with Morgan Stanley to become Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Discover & Co. In 1999, this company rebranded itself as [[Discover Financial|Discover Financial Services, Inc]].<ref>Kagan, Julia. [https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/discover-card.asp]. Investopedia.com, June 27, 2018.</ref>

=== Discover Bank ===
The Greenwood Trust Company was founded in 1911 and is based in [[Greenwood, Delaware]]. It was acquired by Discover Financial Services in 1985 and renamed Discover Bank in 2000.<ref>{{cite press release | title=Greenwood Trust Company Renamed Discover Bank | url=http://investorrelations.discoverfinancial.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=204177&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1005864&highlight | archive-url=https://archive.today/20140121165011/http://investorrelations.discoverfinancial.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=204177&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1005864&highlight | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 21, 2014 | publisher=[[Discover Financial Services]] | date=August 1, 2000 }}</ref> The original location of the Greenwood Trust Company on East Market Street in Greenwood is now the town hall and police station.<ref>{{cite web | title=Discover Bank | url=http://www.bankrate.com/finance/businesses/d/discover-bank.aspx}}</ref>

=== Global alliance ===
{{see|Card reciprocal agreements}}
Starting around 2005, to increase acceptance around the world, Discover has formed several agreements with other payment networks internationally. This allows Discover cardholders to perform transactions while traveling abroad. Vice versa, cardholders of other countries may utilize their cards at U.S. merchants that accept Discover.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discoverglobalnetwork.com/en-us/about-us/reach-and-acceptance|title = Reach and Acceptance &#124; Discover Global Network}}</ref> Some major examples include:
*[[Diners Club International]] worldwide
* [[BC Card]] in South Korea
* [[JCB (credit card company)|JCB]] in Japan
* [[RuPay]] in India
* [[Troy (card scheme)|TROY]] in Turkey<ref>{{cite web | url=https://troyodeme.com/en/urunler-ve-hizmetler/kart-kabulu/ | title=Card Acceptance – Troy – Turkey's Payment Method}}</ref>
* [[China UnionPay|UnionPay]] in China
* [[Verve International|Verve]] in Nigeria
* [[DinaCard]] in Serbia
* [[Elo (card association)|Elo]] in Brazil
* ATH in Puerto Rico
* Mercury throughout the Middle East
* NAPAS in Vietnam
* Prosa in Mexico

Currently, Discover is accepted in 185 countries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/help-center/account/international-use.html|title = International Credit Card Acceptance &#124; Discover}}</ref>